At the Bottom of the Ocean
by xgoldxlionsx
Summary: Best friends from the start; never wanna be torn apart. Always done with such grace; never forget your poker face.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, I absolutely love Magic Kaito. And I love working on this, so, I hope you enjoy taking it? (:  
MK is the only manga I've had the patience to read all the way through; besides Meitantei Conan, of course!

Sooo, yeah!

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, blah, blah, blah. (:

oOo

Aoko took a seat in the back of the class room, head down, eyes staring at the fine wood of her desk. Her peers laughed and chatted happily to each other, completely oblivious to the girl's distraughtful presence. She lifted her head, slowly, scanning the room for him. Her breath was caught in her throat. There he was. Sitting on one of the nameless girls' desk, flirting shamelessly with her.

Aoko ducked her head back down, tears involuntarily swelling in her eyes. She clutched her hands tightly, hair falling into her face as she watched the first tear splash onto the surface of the desk. He hadn't spoken to her all week. Hadn't looked her way, hadn't acknowledged her presence, avoided her. She didn't care though. Why should she care?

Their homeroom teacher stepped into the room and everyone stood beside their desks, almost obediently. Aoko remained seated though, hands folded neatly on her desk, wet from her tears. This was ridiculous. She shouldn't be upset over a boy. Especially him. So what? So what if he had been her best childhood friend? So what if he had been by her side? So what if he was always there for her?

Aoko toned her teacher out. She was speaking to her, but the girl didn't want to hear anything she had to say. Surprisingly, Aoko didn't care if she had gotten in trouble. It was strange. The only thing she felt was sadness. Her teacher was stalking down the aisle now, heading straight for Aoko's desk.

The girl's strange behavior baffled her teacher. She had never had any behavior issues from the girl. What was wrong with her? She knelt beside her desk, trying to get a good look at Aoko's face through the mess of brown hair. It had become a curtain, shielding the girl's face, with her head bent down the way it was.

Aoko chose to ignore the teacher's soft, soothing whispers. When the teacher got no response, she sighed and stood. From the corner of her eye, she noticed her hands, dampened with.. tears? The teacher's brows furrowed in deep concern, but she quickly made her way to the front of the class, barking at her students to take their seats.

Aoko's fellow classmates began gossiping with one another, all eyes glued on the girl. All eyes expect his. He sat straight forward, jaw clenched, trying to ignore his friends remarks and comments. Suddenly, her small, soft, sweet voice invaded his ears.

"Kyoushi-san, may I please be excused?" Despite the increasing volume of the students chattering, despite her being in the back, and him in the front, despite him trying his hardest not to hear her, her voice stood out against all the others. It took all his will power not to turn around and stare at her.

He glanced at their teacher, carefully studying her reaction. Beneath her spectacles, Kaito noticed worry flashing in her eyes as she nodded, stiffly. His teacher's eyes never left Aoko's slim figure. He watched the teacher. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaito spotted her. She briefly passed by his visage and was out of sight, slipping out of the door, soundlessly.

He slumped down in his seat, eyes downcasted, heaving a tremendous sigh that was sure to be heard by everyone around him. He didn't care. He just hoped she was okay.

Aoko clutched her books to her chest as she fled down the deserted hallway. She was originally going to compose herself in the girls' restroom, but she couldn't bear to attend another class with him, so she did the only other thing she could think of. She left campus.

The streets weren't nearly as busy as they usually were in the mornings, late afternoons, or early evenings. Aoko couldn't return home; her father wasn't due to report to work until noon. She couldn't seek refuge from one of her friends, they were all at school, which was where she should have been.

She shoved her books into her school bag, venturing down the business street. Aoko suspired slowly, shakily raising her hands to her face to wipe her cheeks free of any tears she had shed over him. She just needed time.. she would be okay, once she was able to get over him.

Aoko wandered aimlessly, not really caring where she ended up. The sounds of laughter reached ears and she slowed to a stop, finding herself in front of a park she had never heard of before. Overwhelmed with an inquisitve nature, she followed the cadence of mirth.

The source was a playground. There was a multitude of children, running after each other, guffawing, shrieking playfully. Aoko spotted their parents nearby. Although they seemed to be conversing with one another, she noticed each parent always carefully weeded out their child and regarded them cautiously.

She felt no joy, watching the children playing, hearing their shrilly laughter. Aoko wandered away from the playground and found a lone park bench, beneath a huge oak tree, its leaves fall off, one by one. She observed the scene for a moment, grimly deciding how perfectly it suited her mood.

She took a seat on the bench and slouched her shoulders, eyes threatening to leak once more. Aoko respired, a certain sadness creeping upon her usually happy and perky countenance. Her school bag found its way onto the ground, but she didn't bother to pull it up to her. Her eyes became fascinated in the individual pebbles used to create the park's walkway.

No matter what she did, her mind always wandered back to Kaito.

'Damn him!' She thought to herself, bitterly, unaware that she had begun lachrymation once again, 'Why hasn't he spoken to me? Does he know I saw? Is he embarrassed or ashamed?' Her eyes widened in sudden realization, 'Maybe he wanted me to see..'

Overwrought with her epiphany, Aoko failed to notice the couple sitting on the bench beside her, in each other arms. She heard the low voices, followed by a female's giggle. She almost couldn't stand it. What did they do to deserve to be so happy? What was so special about them? She inched herself away from them as much as possible on the bench.

After a few moments of sitting beside her, the happy couple decided to move on, hands clasped together. Aoko watched them, stolid expression flitting across her face. With a heavy sigh, she slumped over, elbows on her knees, eyes closing, face falling into her hands.

'Can my day get any worse?' Aoko asked herself, face contorted with distraught.

"Aoko?" The girl snapped her head up, instantly recognizing the voice. Her eyes landed on the figure, and they widened.

'I guess that's a yes..'


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay! Sooo, thanks to everyone who has been reviewing so far! (: You guys are sweethearts. 3  
And uh.. yeah, that's all! I really don't have much to say, ever. (:

oOo

_School had just let out, and Aoko was in a hurry to get off campus. She wanted to go home and get ready for her date with Kaito. _

_She successfully got away from her daytime prison, without being stopped or called out to. A huge smile erupted onto her pretty face. She couldn't help but let the whole world how happy she was. Kaito finally asked her out! She practically skipped the entire way home. _

_Her father had gotten the day off, and was lounging about the living room, eyes glued to the television set. He heard the door slam shut and glanced at his daughter before immediately returning his attention back to the screen, "How was school, Aoko-chan?"_

_"Good, daddy!" She bounced to her father and planted a kiss on his cheek. His brows furrowed slightly, and a small smile graced his face. He didn't look away from the screen. Aoko raced to her room and carelessly threw her schoolbag beside her door and rushed to her closet, tearing the doors open and staring at her wardrobe. Her eyes widened drastically, "Oh no.. I don't have anything to wear!"_

_'Calm down, Aoko.' She ordered herself, silently. She's been out with Kaito a million times before, 'But this time is different.. he actually asked if I'd go out with him.. as in a date.' She smiled shyly, 'Ah, but what am I going to wear?!' _

_Aoko ran her hands through her hair, nervously, browsing through her many articles of clothing, and considering certain combinations. Finally, she fought the perfect one and pulled it out, laying it out on her futon. She stepped back and admired the outfit. _

_Her perfect outfit consisted of a plain white T-shirt, a black, flowy skirt that hung just above her knees, and black mary janes. To top off her perfect outfit, she added a soft pink cardigan sweater she had received as a birthday gift from Kaito a few weeks prior. _

_Briefly nodding her approval at the outfit, Aoko skipped off to the bathroom, where she took a shower and fixed her hair. After dashing to her bedroom to pull her clothes on, she checked herself in her full-length mirror. She matted her hair down, nervously, suddenly conscious about how messy it looked, 'Oh, Aoko, you're just overreacting! Your hair looks fine!' She thought to herself, fiddling with the bottom of her beautiful cardigan sweater. _

_She hoped what little make-up she decided to paint her face with wasn't too horribly outrageous. Aoko was not one to wear make-up. The girl had applied the minimum amount of eyeliner possible to the bottom of her eyes, and a very light coating of pink eyeshadow to match the cardigan sweater. Then, she risked putting a bit of lip gloss. _

_After she examined her outfit a few dozen times, she smoothed her skirt out and nodded. Aoko turned to grab her purse when she noticed a pink bow on her dresser. She hadn't realized it was there at all. Where had it come from? She wandered over to it and picked it up, carefully examining it. It seemed to match perfectly with her outfit and her lips curled into a small smile._

_Aoko clipped it into her hair and couldn't help but realize how adorable she looked. She squealled excitedly and bounced into the living room. Her father was still in front of the television set, intently watching the news, subconsciously scoffing here and there._

_"I'm going, Daddy!" Aoko called, hand already on the handle of the front door._

_"Where?" Detective Nakamori shot out before she had time to twist the doorknob open and zoom out of her house. _

_"Kaito is taking me out to a movie, then we might get something to eat." The girl answered, trying to sound casual about it, but an unmistakeable tingling feeling began rising from the pit of her stomach, and a grin was just aching to appear across her countenance._

_"So that boy's finally grown the balls to ask you out?" Her dad asked, idly, scowling at the the score of a soccer game he had turned the channel to. Aoko's eyes widened greatly and she blushed._

_"Dad!" She huffed, cheeks tinting._

_"Fine, fine. Just make sure he has you home by nine o'clock."_

_"Nine?! Eleven."_

_"9:30."_

_"Ten."_

_"9:45."_

_"9:50."_

_"9:45."_

_"Fine," Aoko rolled her eyes, "9:45."_

_"Love you, pumpkin. Be safe, and if he tries kissing you, mace him." Aoko gaped at the back of her father's head as he turned up the volume of the soccer game, laughing and clapping his hands as his team scored another goal. She opened her mouth to shoot back a witty remark, but found she could not think of one and resorted to just storming out of the house._

_Mace him? Oh, her father could be so unbelievable sometimes! Like she would ever be able to mace Kaito! Chase and beat him with a mop, yes. Threaten him with fish, of course. But never mace. Oh, wow, and if he ever tried kissing her.. her cheeks flared at the thought and her stomach decided to do flips. _

_A grin was plastered across her face as she merrily skipped down the busy sidewalk. Passerbys noticed her vibrant personality and smiled, her happiness seemingly contagious. She bounced past an alleyway when she heard a familiar voice. It caused her to stop in her tracks, brows furrowed. _

_"I don't know," She heard a soft voice. God, it sounded so familiar.. "Can we please do this somewhere else? Dark alleyways make me very uncomfortable, Kaito-kun." _

_"All right, all right," The male chuckled, "Let's go." Aoko stood rooted where she was, her eyes widening to their fullest extent. Akako and Kaito emerged from the alleyway, Kaito's arm draped across her shoulders, nose nuzzling against the top of her head. Akako giggled at the gesture of affection and wrapped one of her arms around his middle, the two extremely close to one another._

_Aoko gawked at the couple, gasping loudly, a hand moving to cover her mouth as it hung open in shock, and frankly, disbelief. Kaito immediately noticed his childhood friend and stopped in his tracks, returning Aoko's stare._

_"Aoko.." He tightened his free hand into a fist, eyes boring into hers. The girl shook her head, taking a step back, "Aoko, wait.." The girl said nothing as she spun around and ran, ignoring his shouts, "Aoko!"_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: :3

Enjooooy~

* * *

"Aoko?" The girl snapped her head up, instantly recognizing the voice. Her eyes landed on the figure, and they widened.

_Why doesn't he just leave me alone? Doesn't he realize how upset I am with him? I'm only going to be angrier because I know he's going to give me a lame excuse for what he did.. he is such an idiot, he doesn't even understand girls._

"Aoko.." The girl averted her gaze, arms crossed over her chest, "Please, talk to me."

"I have nothing to say to you, Kaito."

"You looked very pretty.." Kaito mumbled under his breath. Initially, the girl's heart was aflutter and she felt the heat of her face, but that wasn't going to be enough to sway her. What he had done to her was inexcusable and she wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. He didn't understand how much it hurt her to see him with her.. with _Akako_.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" She snapped.

"I'm going to be wherever you are, Aoko-chan."

"That sounds very irritating, Kaito." The girl narrowed her eyes at him, trying her hardest to remain angry, but the disheartened mug of her beloved childhood friend was almost enough to make her crack. Almost, "Where's your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend." What could he possibly say to her to make this right? He couldn't very well tell her the truth, could he? That he was under Akako's spell because she was a witch and he was the phantom thief, the magician, the Kaitou Kid. He couldn't come clean with that. As much as it puzzled him to know that somehow, someway, Akako finally got to him. He had always managed to resist her black magic, but something happened that day.. maybe he was so excited about his date with Aoko that he wasn't focusing himself entirely on resisting her witchcraft?

That didn't make sense though. No matter what, he never succumbed to her before. Something must've happened, and he was going to find out what it way to prevent it from ever happening again.

"Oh no? You seemed awfully cozy with her." stated Aoko, stiffly.

"I know whatever I say to you to explain what happened isn't going to change the fact that I hurt you—"

"Hurt me? You're not important enough to get upset over, Kaito." The girl interrupted, heatedly. Kaito could read her like a book, and knew she was lying. But she needed something to make it easy, so she was fishing for a fight. Kaito couldn't help but smirk.

"Really? Then why did you run away like that?" Kaito asked, slyly, brow arched.

"I figured you wanted some alone time with your new girlfriend." Aoko retorted.

"I told you, she isn't my—"

"Then what happened?"

"Even if I told you, you're not going to believe me. I already know you, Aoko, you're going to say it's just another lame excuse." Kaito responded calmly, resting his arms along the backside of the park bench. The girl eyed him. He was right. He did know her too well.

"Try me."

"Akako has been having trouble with a boy who won't leave her alone. I was pretending to be her boyfriend so he could get the hint." Kaito knew how farfetched that sounded, but it was the only thing he could think of that could possibly explain why they were so cuddly before. The boy glanced at Aoko from the corner of his eye as she sat beside him, debating whether or not to believe him.

After another moment of silence, she turned to him, tucking a rebellious strand of hair behind her ear. The corners of Kaito's lips curled into a small smirk. No matter how hard Aoko tried, her hair was always unruly. But he wouldn't have it any other way, "Is Akako okay?"

_... she bought it? Wow._

"She will be." Kaito felt awful for lying to her, but atleast she wasn't angry with him any longer.. right? Still, Kaito knew Akako wasn't particularly fond of Aoko, but the girl never seemed to hold any grudges against the secret witch, despite all of the things that had transpired between the two of them. Aoko wasn't the type to hold it against a person.. unless it was Kaito, then she could recall every hiccup.

"Oh.. well, I'm still a bit annoyed with you." She huffed.

"I thought I wasn't important enough to get upset over?" Kaito grinned.

"You aren't."

"If you say so.." Kaito shrugged, when a thought suddenly occured to him, "Am I important enough to get another shot at taking you out for dinner and a movie?"

"Nope!" Aoko promptly stated. Kaito sweatdropped, straightening up, "I don't think you deserve another chance."

"Why not?"

"You made plans with me, but you were helping out Akako."

"My intentions were noble! C'mon, don't be so jealous!" Kaito exclaimed, staring at the girl beside him.

"Jealous!" Aoko scoffed, "I wasn't jealous of her!"

"I think you were." Kaito retorted with a roll of his eyes.

"You're insane!"

"Atleast I'm not insanely jealous, like somebody I know," The boy remarked, teasingly. Without warning, Aoko dug into her schoolbag, producing a rubber fish. She held it out to her friend, whose eyes widened dramatically as he toppled off the park bench, "AOKO! WHAT THE HELL?"

"What is it, Kaito?" asked Aoko, innocently, "Is something wrong?"

"W-what the hell are you doing with a rubber fish in your school bag?" Kaito demanded, chest heaving as he pushed himself back on his elbows.

"Oh you mean this thing? Isn't it cute? His name is Sanyo." It was Aoko's turn to smirk as she stood, looming over the boy on the ground, fish clutched in her fist, "Wanna see it?"

"N-no! GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME."

"Why? It isn't real!" Aoko advanced as he scrambled to his feet, slowly backing away from her, gazing at the fake fish in her hand, fearfully.

"I DON'T CARE! AHH~!"


	4. Chapter 4

So all was well at Ekoda High School. Aoko was no longer infuriated with Kaito; however, she did make it her top priority to antagonize him every chance she got, using her new favorite thing in the whole world: Sanyo, the rubber fish.

Kaito didn't take too kindly to his best friend's new toy and tried avoiding the girl at all costs. Aoko wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily.

"KAITO, HEY!" The girl shouted with a wave of Sanyo as she skipped away from the math and science building of their high school. The magician, woh had been conversing with a classmate, turned to the girl and paused, mid-laugh, mouth agape.

_WHAT. That stupid fish again?_

"You okay?" The classmate inquired, arching a brow. It was obvious he wasn't familiar with Kaito's unnatural fear of fish.

"Y-yeah, I gotta go, see ya!" Kaito zoomed off in the opposite direction before the boy could protest. Aoko bounced to a stop in front of the classmate with a grin. It didn't matter if he ran away from her: she always knew where to find him. Aoko stuffed Sanyo back into her school bag and smiled sweetly at the boy Kaito had previously been engaged in conversation with.

"Hi," She greeted, cheerfully.

"Hey.. I don't think Kaito noticed you." The boy commented, pointing in the direction he went off in.

"Oh, he did, but it's okay, I'll get that creep." Aoko waved it off, "I'm Aoko, by the way." She stuck her hand out for him.

"Uh, Daisuke." He introduced himself, grasping her hand in his, surprised at how soft and warm her flesh was, "Is Kaito afraid of you?"

"You can say that." said the girl, mischeviously. She cackled, rubbing her hands together, reminding the boy of some type of evil mastermind. He couldn't help but notice how strange this girl was, "Are you new here?"

"Yeah, actually." Daisuke nodded his head in confirmation, "Just moved here from Osaka."

"Oh, neat! Do you have that dastardly, gaudy, flirtatious dog in many classes?" asked Aoko, conversationally, referring to Kaito. Daisuke hesitated a moment before answering.

"Just P.E."

"How unfortunate for you, Daisuke!" Aoko exclaimed, chirpily. Daisuke sweatdropped, not at all sure what to make of this girl. He hadn't really spoken much to other students since registering, but the conversations he had with Kaito and Aoko were the longest. Kaito, in spite of coming off as arrogant, was a nice guy and offered to show the new kid around the school. Aoko, on the other hand..

What happened between the two of them to create such tension?

"He's a nice guy.." Daisuke verbalized his thoughts.

"For now." sighed Aoko, "I've known him since we were in kindergarten. We're best friends." Daisuke's eyes widened at this newfound information. Best friends? Well, he sure didn't want to be apart of that friendship if Aoko got those kinds of reactions from Kaito, "We're in a fight though.." She mused over that for a moment before correcting herself, "Sort of."

"Sort of? What happened? If you don't mind my asking."

"Oh, Kaito was just being Kaito." Aoko sighed, "You'll understand what I mean once you get to know him."

Daisuke slowly nodded, not sure what she meant by that exactly, but deciding to take her word for it.

"AOKO!" She turned at the sound of her name. Daisuke followed her gaze and his eyes landed on a pretty brunette with round glasses, "Hey! Did you hear?" Aoko cocked her head to the side, "The Kid's going to strike again tomorrow night!" The girl squealled excitedly as she approached the pair.

"Him again." Aoko scoffed with a roll of her eyes.

"Not a fan of his work?" Daisuke grinned. Aoko turned to him with a glare and opened her mouth to speak, but the pretty brunette cut her off.

"Oh no, Aoko-chan _hates _the Kid!"

"And why does Aoko-chan hate the Kid?" He turned to her.

"Because the Kid is a good-for-nothing, low-life criminal." stated the girl, matter-of-factly.

"I don't know," Daisuke shrugged, "I think he's kind of cool."

"Idiot," Aoko shook her head, "No wonder you were drawn to that Kaito-baka. Idiots always have a way of finding other idiots." Daisuke's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't known the girl longer than half an hour, and she was already badmouthing him! Her friend didn't look too surprised by her behavior as she patted her back in consolation, "I have to go.. I have fencing lessons." She grumbled before stalking off.

"Pleasant girl.." Daisuke commented as she walked away from them, "Why is the Kid such a sore subject for her?" He turned to the remaining female.

"Oh, her father is Inspector Nakamori. He runs a special squad that's trying to capture Kaitou Kid." The girl answered.

"It doesn't seem like they're doing a very good job if they still haven't caught him yet." Daisuke chuckled. The girl's eyes widened considerably as she shot a nervous glance in Aoko's direction, but the girl was long gone.

"If Aoko-chan hears you bad mouthing her father, she's going to make you wish you were never born!"

"She sounds pretty vicious."

"She's actually a very sweet girl, but the Kid and Kaito-kun's constant flirting always gets under her skin and she becomes mean and irritable." The girl sighed.

"Oh, so she is interested in Kaito?"

"Yes, but she'll never admit it."

"What's your name, by the way?"

"Oh, I'm Keiko!" She held a hand out to him.

"Daisuke." He shook her hand, "I'm new here."

"Welcome to Edoka High School."

* * *

A/N: Daisuke is just a random character I'll use from time-to-time. He won't be very developed, unless I decide to make him a permanent part of the story. Everyone remembers Keiko, yeah? Aoko's best female friend.

I'm really glad I decided to pick up this story again. It's going to be very light-hearted, in comparison to the Detective Conan story, which has its moments, but can be really angsty and suspenseful. Magic Kaito has always been kind of light and fluffy and just fun. I want to incorporate that into this. Lets see how well I do. :3


	5. Chapter 5

"THE KID HAS DONE IT AGAIN! ANOTHER PRICELESS JEWEL STOLEN, VALUED AT OVER 500 MILLION YEN!" The intercom boomed as the Edoka High School principal's voice floated throughout campus. Even _he _was a fan of the Kid. A few weeks had drifted by, and over the course of time, the Kid had announced and successfully stolen one item each week. The students were on their lunch break when the principal took to the microphone.

Aoko, Keiko, Daisuke and Kaito were lounging in their math instructor's classroom when the announcement came boomed through the speakers. Aoko, who had been happily nibbling on a large ball of seasoned sticky rice, narrowed her eyes in the direction of the intercom, mood changing considerably.

And it didn't help that Kaito had begun grinning like a fool, "Why are you so happy?" Aoko snapped.

"Oh, no reason! Don't you just think the Kid's a really cool guy?"

"No." Aoko responded before anyone else could reply, "I think he's the lamest criminal."

"Oh, so criminals can be cool though?" The corners of Kaito's lips curled.

"No, but if it were possible, he'd be the lamest. He's such a child," Aoko rolled her eyes, "Entertaining everyone with magic."

"But, Aoko-chan!" Keiko piped up, "He's so handsome!"

"Keiko is one hundred percent correct, Aoko." Kaito agreed, straight-faced, "Wouldn't you say so?"

"No." The girl replied, curtly, "Now can we please move onto a different subject? I don't want to hear about the Kaitou Kid any longer."

"Oh, c'mon!" Kaito exclaimed, prodding the beast, "You can admit to your best friend—"

"BA-KAITO," The girl shouted, glaring at him, "ARE YOU IN LOVE WITH HIM?"

"Wha~? Of course not!"

"I think you are because you won't stop talking about him!" Daisuke and Keiko shot nervous glances at each other as Aoko fumed. Kaito had taken it upon himself to deliberately go out of his way to annoy his best female friend. It didn't help Kaito's situation at all, since Aoko still felt hurt by Kaito's tactics with Akako. She hadn't said anything about it since she just wanted everything to blow over, but it was becoming harder and harder to forget about what happened. Kaito didn't seem to give her time to forget about it because he spent all his free time flirting with their classmates and other girls on their walks home or when they hung out off-campus.

Keiko knew something was wrong with Aoko, but the girl would shut down every time Keiko made an attempt to pry. Despite the pretty brunette being Aoko's best girl friend, she didn't want to bother her with her troubles. She still hadn't even told her about seeing Kaito with Akako.

And of course, Kaito didn't think anything was wrong. He just tried to retain the normalcy of their every day lives and friendship. Since he flirted and annoyed Aoko to begin with, he didn't see anything wrong with the way he was behaving. If she said she had forgiven him about that incident, then he didn't give it another thought. In the mind of Kaito, everything was okay.

Daisuke, who had transitioned into their group nicely, noticed the tension, but didn't think twice about it. How could he think anything was wrong with the way those two interacted when the first day he met both of them, Aoko chased him off and spoke about him slanderously, with a cheerful smile on her face. He just figured this was what it was like in the group.

But when Keiko got nervous, it showed. Daisuke had noticed the way she bit her bottom lip, gaze flipping back and forth between Kaito and Aoko. Whenever Keiko and Daisuke were alone, and the topic of Kaito and Aoko's relationship came up, Keiko insisted they liked each other and that they'd eventually confess to loving each other. Daisuke just couldn't see that happening. They constantly fought over the course of the last few weeks and it didn't look like the arguing would stop anytime soon.

RINGGGGGG~!

Kaito and Aoko ceased fighting for a moment as the bell rang overhead, indicating the end of their lunch hour. As soon as the ringing ended, the argument kicked back up as the group gathered their belongings. Aoko and Kaito had math together, so they settled back down in their appropriate seats once they had cleaned their desks of food.

Daisuke promised Keiko he would walk her to her art class, because he had his geography class on the third floor of the same building, "Aoko-chan, are we still going out this weekend?" Daisuke asked, book bag slung over his shoulder as he waited for Keiko to pick up a notebook she had dropped onto the ground.

"Oh yes!" Aoko promptly ignored Kaito and turned to their newest member, smiling brightly, "Saturday, at 19h30!" She exclaimed, cheerfully.

"I'll call you before I pick you up!" Daisuke grinned. He immediately noticed Kaito's face fall as he stared from Daisuke to Aoko, then to Keiko, who straightened, eyes widening. She was unaware of their little date too, it seemed, "See you after school, Aoko-chan!"

"Bye bye, Dai-kun! See you, K-Ko!" Aoko waved as Daisuke ushered the stunned Keiko out of the room, maneuvering her around the incoming students, "What?" She huffed, turning back to Kaito, who sat beside her in their math class, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're going out with Daisuke-kun?" He asked, trying to remain nonchalant, but the hurt and surprise was evident in his voice. Why did he care? He did nothing but flirt with all the other girls in their grade! He was nice to every girl but his own best friend!

"Yes, he's taking me to see the le Fantôme de l'Opéra at the Doumoto Concert Hall in Beika City!" Aoko exclaimed, excitedly.

"The Phantom of the Opera?" Kaito asked, tilting his head.

"Yes! It's such a romantic story!" Aoko swooned.

"So you like Daisuke-kun?" Kaito suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Aoko blinked.

"You like Daisuke-kun." Kaito repeated, "You want to be his girlfriend."

"W-wha~? No, you idiot!" she exclaimed, blushing, "We're just going as friends!"

"So you don't like him then?"

"N—" Aoko began, but paused, furrowing her brows in Kaito's direction. Was he.. was he jealous? "Maybe a little," She started, slowly, as if testing the waters, waiting to see what kind of reaction she got from him, "He is charming and handsome."

"Hmph," Kaito tensed, averting his gaze away and grumbled, irritably, "I don't think he's that great."

"Don't be so jealous, Kaito," Aoko shook her head, shifting in her seat so she was facing the front of the room. He shot her a glare before rolling his eyes. But Aoko couldn't help but notice he didn't deny being jealous. It wasn't much, and it probably wouldn't stop him from flirting with other girls, but it was definitely a start, "Are you still going to come over afterschool so we can work on our project?"

"Aren't you going to be busy with _Daisuke-kun_?"

"He said he was going to try and walk me home because a beautiful girl like me shouldn't be wandering the dangerous streets of Tokyo without protection, but—"

"_Beautiful_?" Kaito openly scoffed, "Please, nobody would want to kidnap a girl with an ugly face and no breasts." Aoko opened her mouth to unleash hell on him, but decided against it last minute as she pursed her lips together and faced forward. Kaito huffed, resting his head in his folded arms on his desk.

She didn't have to sink down to his level and shout and fight with him. Aoko had many devious ploys up her sleeves.

"You can't come over today anyway, Ba-Kaito," Aoko managed through clenched teeth as she withdrew her math book, notebook and pencil bag from her school bag. She produced a pencil with a hanging fish charm at the end where the eraser should've been.

"Whatev-ev-ev—" Kaito stuttered as he narrowed his gaze at her from the corner of his eyes, only to spot the tiny, grinning fish, "A-A-Ahhh~!"

"What's your problem, you idiot?" Aoko asked, innocently.

"DAMMIT, AOKO!"

"Ku ku ku ku!" She giggled, holding the pencil out to him, "Would you like to use my pencil, Kaito-kun?"

"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME~!"

"OH, grow up, KAITO!"


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks to everyone for not giving up on this story. :3 I appreciate it!

Also, thanks for reviewing!

Enjoy~

* * *

_Who does she think she is? Going out with that jerk, Daisuke! What the hell does she see in him anyway? _

The Kid shoved his hands into his pockets, grumbling under his breath as he stalked down the busy streets of Tokyo. All around him, people pointed and gasped in surprise at seeing the infamous thief casually strolling down the sidewalk. The Kid had been so caught up in his own thoughts, he hadn't realized he'd strayed from his original path.

He had been on his way to the Kujo Theater to familiarize himself with the building's layout when he spotted Daisuke, walking Aoko home from her piano lesson. The Kid forgot all about his heist, and the valuable heart-shaped pendant he wanted to steal and began following the couple.

The Kid watched from Aoko's tree as Daisuke walked her to her front door. They stood on her porch for a few minutes, chatting, before Aoko exclaimed happily and threw her arms around his neck. The Kid's eyes widened as Daisuke snaked his arms around Aoko's slender waist. Finally, the girl ended the embrace and backed away with a grin. Daisuke took it as his cue to leave and waved as he backtracked to her gate. The Kid contemplated returning to his scheming ways, but curiosity and jealousy got the best of him and he continued watching Daisuke.

The new boy did nothing of interest: stopped at a kiosque, helped an old lady with her groceries, crossed some streets, stopped a group of kids' ball from rolling into traffic.

After awhile of wandering, Daisuke flipped open his cellphone and waited at a nearby corner. The Kid observed from the nearest building's rooftop, remaining inconspicuous. After a few minutes, a sleek black car pulled up and a man hopped out of the passenger's seat to pull open the back door. Daisuke disregarded the man's bow as he got into the car, the man shutting the door behind him. The black car sped off.

_Huh.. weird. I wonder who those guys were.. if they were going to pick up Daisuke, why didn't he just have them drop Aoko off at home, instead of walking? Could it be he wanted to spend more time together? It seems a little suspicious though. Should I follow__—no, it was probably nothing. _

And so, the Kid lost his head in the clouds, somehow winding up on the public street, with the setting sun casting its red and orange hues over the city. Soon, the sun had finally called it a night and the moon pranced into the sky, littering the vast open space with glittering clusters of stars.

_What could he possibly see in Aoko? She's obnoxious and mean and acts like a child! She gets mad at me over the smallest things. I don't understand... why didn't Aoko ask me to walk her home? I always walk her home._

The Kid found himself at one of the many parks in Tokyo and plopped down on one of the benches, sighing dejectedly.

"What's the matter, son?" The Kid shifted his gaze to the old man sitting beside him. He hadn't noticed anyone was near him when he decided to sulk.

"Girl trouble." The criminal grumbled.

"Girlfriend mad at ya?"

"I don't understand! She's hanging out with _Daisuke_. I'M supposed to be her best friend!" The Kid exclaimed, heatedly, elbows on his knees, hands cupping his chin, "Keiko always went on about how much Aoko liked me, and everyone always said we'd be together. If that were true, why is she hanging out with another boy?"

"Maybe she doesn't realize she's doing anything wrong," The old man commented, "It isn't her fault you're so jealous."

"But he asked her out! They're going to see the Phantom of the Opera this weekend."

"Did she tell you it was a date?" The old man asked.

"Well.. no," The Kid answered, truthfully, "She said they were only going as friends, but—"

"If she says they're only going as friends, then you should believe her. You're not going to win her back by being overly suspicious of her, and jealous of every gentleman who talks to her."

"Oh, what do you know, geezer?" The Kid huffed, turning away from him, "When was the last time you had a date? When VHS was cool?"

The old man chuckled at the Kid's discontent, "I'm certain I have much more experience than you do, young man."

"Whatever," The Kid grumbled. Like the Kid needed advice from some old guy, sitting alone, in a park. He wasn't normally so rude, but he was at wit's end with Aoko and Daisuke and whatever was happening between them. He didn't mean to snap at the poor guy.

"You're right—be suspicious of her and chase away all of her friends," The old man began, sarcastically, "And why don't you spy on her too, while you're at it?"

"Spy on her?" The Kid straightened up," I am a master of disguise.. I could steal something from the musical.. maybe the mask?" The Kid's mind was racing a million miles an hour as he concocted this plan in his head, "Yes! I'll steal from the Doumoto Concert Hall this Saturday night!" The Kid exclaimed, jumping up, pumping his fist into the air, victoriously.

The old man blinked at the boy as he sweatdropped, "I-I didn't—"

"Thanks, old timer!" The Kid winked at him before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

"Ojiichan! There you are!" A couple of teenage girls hurried toward the old man, "Who were you talking to just now?"

"The Kaitou Kid."

"W-wha~?"


	7. Chapter 7

Kaito was short-fused with everyone. Instead of poking and jeering at Aoko, he had stopped talking to her altogether. She couldn't figure out what his problem was. Or what she could have possibly done to him to cause him to resort to using the cold shoulder with her.

_Whatever, _Aoko thought to herself with a huff, _He's so unpredictable and moody these days.._

She rested her chin in the palm of her hand, her elbow on her desk. Their math teacher was at the blackboard, chatting away, scribbling mathematical equations. Kaito sat beside Aoko, face buried in his folded arms. Aoko glanced from the blackboard to her notebook, copying the equations in her notes. She shot a glance in Kaito's direction.

Her expression softened as she watched him sleep. He seemed especially tired the last couple of days. Maybe that was why he was so short-tempered with everyone and silent to her. He was just really tired. Aoko knew that when Kaito didn''t get enough sleep, he got very moody.

_What does he do at night? Why doesn't he sleep?_

Aoko tilted her head as a student entered the classroom. He bowed respectfully before handing the teacher a sheet of paper. She read it over before sighing and turning to address her classroom, "I will ony be gone a moment—take out a fresh piece of paper and list the formulas for the test next week.. repeat them three times and same them aloud."

The class grumbled in unison as she hurried out of the room. Aoko turned the page in her notebook and put her pencil to her paper as her blazer pocket vibrated. She withdrew her cellphone and pushed the screen up with her thumb to see she had gotten a new message from Daisuke.

**got em r we still gonna meet after skool?**

yeah! thnx daikun :)

**no prob u in class?**

yes u?

**tanaka let us out early. in the locker rm rite now**

im in math w/ kaito. teacher left.

**is he still ignoring u?**

yes :( i hope this makes him feel better

**lol i think so ;)**

hehe thnx so much daikun! :) u r the best

**i know :P see u later aokochan**

kk :D

"Who are you texting?" Kaito suddenly asked in a mumble, looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Nobody." She replied, sliding the screen back into place, forcefully before pocketing it again, "Have a nice nap?"

"Where did teacher go?" Kaito ignored her question as he lazily shifted his eyes to the front of the room, not bothering to lift his head from the cradle of his arms. He yawned loudly and balled his hand into a fist, rubbing his knuckle into his eye.

Aoko didn't reply as her pocket vibrated again. Thinking it was Daisuke, she pulled her phone out, with a smile.

**dinner: u + me? tonite? :o)**

Aoko grinned at the text from her father. He had been so preoccupied with the Kid that she hardly saw him.

ok cant wait! love u otousan!

"Why are you so happy?" Kaito asked, irritably.

"My dad and I are going to have dinner tonight." The girl smiled brightly. Kaito already had his mouth open to snap at her, but slowly blinked at her answer. It was her father? Right.. before Kaito got snippy with everyone, she had been expressing her woe at how little time her father had been spending with her. Every since the Kid's return, he had become almost obsessed with the thief.

Kaito never really took it into account how this would impact Aoko.

"I'm glad.." Aoko frowned at him, surprised at his gentle tone. He smiled up at her, "Have fun tonight, okay?"

"Thanks, Kaito.."

* * *

Aoko sat at her desk, piles of books scattered throughout her room, as she tried to concentrate on her math assignment. Dinner with her father was wonderful. He took her to an Indian restaurant: it was definitely a new experience for both of them. They laughed and joked and talked about their last couple of days.

Early in the conversation, the Inspector realized how his daughter's mood changed whenever he mentioned the Kid—which was often, so he steered the conversation away from his work, much to Aoko's pleasant surprise.

Suddenly, Aoko's cellphone flashed and vibrated as she received a new messsage. She tapped her eraser against her homework, deciding whether or not to check it. It could have been Daisuke or Keiko. Or Yamada, from her math class. They also shared chemistry together and were partners for a project.

The girl snatched the phone up and slid it open:

**oi anata what are you doing?**

hw u?

**thinking of you**

Aoko blushed at the text as she replied to it:

shouldnt u be doing something more productive? :P

**oh youre right ill think about k-ko instead **

w/e bakaito 

**haha dont be so jealous**

im not jealous idiot

**your always jealous **

r u home rite now?

**huh? yeah, why?**

The girl didn't respond to the text as she made up her mind: she was going to sneak to his house. Aoko gripped the phone in her hand, brows furrowed. She had never snuck out of her house before. She had never went against her father like this..

But there was a first time for everything.

The girl closed tossed her pencil onto her stack of papers and unbuttoned her white blouse. Since dinner, she had not changed out of her school uniform. As she tugged her skirt down and kicked it aside, Aoko threw open her closet doors and peered in. She finally decided on a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans.

Aoko slipped into her clothes and pulled on a pair of sneakers as she snatched the black sweater that hung from the back of her desk chair. She poked her head out of her room and listened for the sounds of the television in the living room, "Otousan?" She called out.

"Yeah?" came his response.

"I'm going to bed now!"

"Finished with your homework?"

"Yes, otousan!"

"Okay, then. Goodnight, dear!"

"Goodnight!" She closed her bedroom door and hurried to her desk to switch off her lamp. Darkness befell the room. Aoko stuffed her cellphone into her pants pocket as she slipped into her sweater, zipping it halfway up. All the while, her heart was thumping wildly against her chest.

Aoko pushed aside her curtains and unlocked the window. Suddenly, she remembered what she was forgetting and hurried to her book bag, producing an envelope from the main compartment.

After it was secured in her pocket, it was so easy for the girl to sneak out. All she had to do was lower her body from the window and crouch low behind the bushes. She tiptoed through the hedge until she was by the busy street. From there, she just had to walk to Kaito's house.

Her phone vibrated against her leg. When she looked at the screen, it was another message from Kaito:

**aoko? whats going on?**

She decided against replying and quickened her pace. The walk to his house was shorter than it usually was during the day. Since there wasn't as much traffic, she got across streets much quicker. Once his house was in sight, Aoko grasped her phone in her hand, ready to send Kaito a message, in case his gate was locked.

She didn't have to sneak onto his property since his mother was out of the country. Aoko pushed open the gate, delighted to find it unlocked and hurried around to the backyard, out of habit. Since his bedroom was on the second floor, Kaito used the staircase in the kitchen, so the two usually entered the house through the backdoor.

The only lights on in the house were the ones in his bedroom. Instead of knocking, Aoko searched the ground for rocks. Once she found a few good ones, the girl chucked them at his window, one at a time.

A figure appeared in the window, shifting the curtains aside. Aoko moved out into the open, digging her hands into the pockets of her sweater. The figure disappeared from the smaller window and reappeared at the sliding panel of the balcony door. Kaito stepped out onto his deck and frowned down at his childhood friend.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?"

"Does your dad know you're out here so late?"

"Otousan doesn't need to know."

"Yeah?" Kaito raised a brow, marvelling at her unexpected behavior, "Well, what do you want?"

"I have something for you.." Aoko withdrew the envelope from her pocket and held it up for Kaito's scrutiny.

"What is that?"

"Tickets to the opera this weekend."

"Aren't you going with Daisuke?"

"I still am.. but he got tickets for you and Keiko also." Aoko said with a smile.

"But.. why?" Kaito leaned over the edge of his balcony, gazing down at the girl as she stood in the middle of his yard.

"I asked him if he could get extra tickets for you."

"You didn't have to."

"I know, but I wanted my best friend to be there."

"I'm sure Keiko will be very pleased to hear this**—**" Kaito began, jokingly, but Aoko interrupted him with a firm shake of her head.

Despite his playful mood, Aoko was completely serious when she said, "I mean you, Kaito."

"So.." He grinned down at her, "You snuck out to tell me?"

"I guess I did."

"Idiot.. you could get in a lot of trouble if your dad knew you were out here."

"I know.." Aoko shifted her weight from one foot to the other, "So, want to walk me home?"

Kaito chuckled, "I'd love to."


End file.
